Netanyahu aide slips into UAE secretly amid rising security fears
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The UAE has distanced itself from Netanyahu as "Israel’s" war on Gaza and settlement expansion have deepened global anger, exposing Tel Aviv’s growing political isolation.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meeting with President Donald Trump, not pictured, attended by Netanyahu's wife, Sara Netanyahu, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in the Blue Room of the White House, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Washington (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched his senior foreign policy advisor to the United Arab Emirates in an effort to ease tensions strained by the Israeli war on Gaza and its settlement expansion in the West Bank, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Ron Dermer, the Israeli minister of strategic affairs, visited Abu Dhabi last week and held discussions with senior Emirati officials, including President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, according to the report. The meetings were not publicly disclosed by either "Israel" or the UAE.
The trip came amid heightened security alerts issued by "Israel" and Western allies, including the US and UK, over potential threats to UAE sites linked to "Israel". According to Bloomberg, Dermer focused on briefing Abu Dhabi on the Israeli regime's planned operation to occupy Gaza City. Earlier this month, the UAE warned that such a move could trigger “catastrophic consequences.”
Deteriorating ties
The Israeli regime and the UAE normalized relations in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords. However, ties have frayed over the occupation's escalating war on Gaza and its worsening relations with the Palestinians, as per the report.
Following October 2023, the UAE slowed proposed Israeli investments and began publicly distancing itself from Netanyahu’s government, Bloomberg noted.
UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed has reportedly declined to meet Netanyahu directly, while Abu Dhabi has hardened its rhetoric against "Israel" in recent weeks. Given the UAE’s position as a major regional economy and rising geopolitical power, its stance carries particular weight.
The UAE last week condemned Netanyahu’s televised comments endorsing “Greater Israel,” a vision encompassing the usurping of more Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring territories.
The UAE Foreign Ministry denounced what it called “incendiary statements and actions by extremists within the Israeli government,” warning that settlement expansion “threatens regional stability and undermines prospects for peace and coexistence.”
Settlement expansion deepens rift
On Thursday, "Israel" approved a controversial West Bank settlement expansion, a move widely seen as further undermining the possibility of a Palestinian state. Over 145 nations, including the UAE, other Arab and Muslim states, and an increasing number of European governments, support the 'two-state' framework opposed by the Netanyahu government.
Despite the rising tensions, Emirati officials have stressed that their commitment to peace with "Israel" transcends any single government. Following a July visit by Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, the UAE stated that discussions with Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed “focused on the evolving bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel.”
